Kunert

by Geraden

Where do you get your tights from? Apart from the obvious, that is?  If you like the luck of the draw, try the charity shops. There seem to be half a dozen in every local high street these days. Not all charity shops have hosiery at any given time, but if they do, unopened packs of hosiery can often be found in a basket on the floor, underneath the ladies' clothing rack or somewhere similar. Prices are usually cheap.

What you find may be anything – supermarket multipacks, cheap single packs, children's school tights, or maybe, if you are lucky, something better. It is not all that uncommon to find Silkies tights (especially the Ultra Control Tops that they give away free to new customers). Silkies are pretty good tights, so get them if you can. 

You might even find vintage hosiery in charity shops. If you are interested in vintage hosiery, these shops should be near the top of your list of sources, and their prices should be cheaper than on E-Bay. I have to admit that I am not into vintage hosiery. I think that hosiery is an area where technology has made great advances, and what you can buy new today is so much better than what you could buy new two or three decades ago. My wife still has a pair of Charnos 30 denier Mink Clouds that she must have had from before we were married (31 years ago). These were her favourite 'going out' tights. They are of course 100% nylon; there is almost no stretch and the fit is awful, particularly on me. No wonder she has an aversion to tights!

However I was going to mention my latest purchase from Bridlington. I went round the charity shops there, looking for baskets of hosiery. I drew several blanks (something that you have to expect) but I eventually found one in Help the Aged. This is what I found:

These tights are by Kunert and are called 'Glatt & Softig'. They are 97% nylon.  Kunert calls the yarn Chinchilla for some reason. It is not stated what the other 3% is. In the absence of any cotton in the gusset, it is probably safe to assume that the 3% is lycra, though it is very unusual for the lycra content not to be stated. They cost me all of 60p.

I have no idea how old they are: anything up to 20 years I guess. Do you think, like me, that the packaging has an 80's look about it? However the tights are still available, in more modern-looking packaging. They cost about €4-€5 online on European sites.

I suppose collectors of vintage hosiery will shudder when I say that I opened the packet and wore the tights. Too bad.

These 20 denier tights have a boxer panty with back panel/gusset, reinforced toe and heel and are fully boarded (shaped). The amount of stretch is low so they are not really long enough for me: they would probably do OK up to 5'10". Although the fabric is smooth, it has a hardish but still quite pleasant feel to it. The nylon moves across the skin more than with the higher lycra content tights that are common today, so the feel on the legs is quite different. Friction against clothing is low, but being a hazel (light brown) colour the tights are fairly noticeable. The sheen is moderate.

It would be interesting to compare these bargain tights from the charity shop with the today's product form Kunert. They may not have changed all that much: this is what the website of legwear.de says about the tights (my translation):

Glatt & Softig 20 - Traditional tights by Kunert

Chinchilla by Kunert stands for soft and skin-friendly yarns. Many people think that the look is a little old-fashioned. But what is old fashioned for one person is a genuine classic for another. The tights have a reinforced waistband, a reciprocated heel and reinforced toe. For one person it is a little bit of tradition; for another an economical consumer product in proven Kunert quality.

links: technorati